Improvement in iron posts for wire fences



C. H. MORGAN & J'. F. LANIDERS.

IRON POSTS FOR WIRE FENcEs- Patented July 3,1877.

J u w 2/? CHARLES H. MoEeAN, or WORCESTER, AND JOHN 'L'AND 'as, or A RN;

SAID LANDERS AssIeNoR 'ro WASHBURN & MoEN MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OFWORCESTER, MASSAGHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN IRON Pos'rs FOR WIRE-FENCES.

Specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. {92,592, dated 'July 3,18 77; applic'ationfiled March 10, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we,'OHARLEs H. MORGAN, ofthe city'andcounty of Worcester and 00mmonwealth of Massachusetts, andJOHN F. LANDERS, of Auburn, in said county and Commonwealth, haveinvented certain new and 'useful Improvements in Fence-Posts for WireFences; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1represents a side view of one length of a wire fence'the posts of whichare made according to our present invention, the middle portions of fourof the strands of the wire fencing being represented broken away. Fig.Zrepresents, on lineA B, Fig. 1, a side view of the top of one of theiron posts, looking in the direction of arrow 1. Fig. 3 represents, online B C, Fig. 1, a side view of the top part of the other post, lookingin the direction of arrow 2; and Fig. 4 represents a section on line CD, Fig. 1, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

To enable those skilled in the art to which our invention belongs tomake and use the same, we will proceed to describe it more in detail.

In the drawings, the parts marked A and B represent two iron posts,provided on their edges with a series of slots, a, to receive the wirefencing G, which may be made with barbs b. The inner part of the slot atis enlarged or rounded out, as shown at 0, Figs. 2 and 3. The upper endsof the posts A and B may be made with a notch, D, or pointed, as shownat E. We prefer to make the posts with a notch, D, for use in thoselocalities where barbed fence has not been used or introduced very much,and, consequently, there is some prejudice against its introduction,since, when the posts are so made, the farmers can dispense with theupper barb-wire when the fence is first put up, and in lieu thereofplace a board rail in the notches l) of the posts, securing the same bymeans of bolts or nails passing through cleats on the ends oftheboardrail, and through the upper slots in the fence posts. Byusing the boardrail the prejudices of the farmer's-are overcome, since the rail can beseen by the stock-readily, and, therefore, the objection of the farmersthat the stock would be liable to run "against the fence inconsequenceof not seeing it is answered,'as well as the 'objectiom'made by thosewho have not used barbed fences, that the stock would be liable tothro'w'the'irhe'ad's over the upper strand of barbed fence-wire,

and beinjured thereby. The construction 'is such, it will be seen, thatthe top rail may be taken off at any time, and the upper barbed strandsubstituted. p

The lower part'of the post is bent into curve form, as indicated in Fig.4, and may be slightly tapered toward the lower end, as indicated indotted lines in same figure. This form makes the lower end which entersthe ground quite strong and stiff, while, at the same time, forming ashoulder at the point d on each edge of the post, which can be made ofwrought metal, and fabricated very quickly, and at moderate expense.

The posts may be secured in the ground in various ways. For instance,the lower end of the post may have a hole to receive a key or wedge, 6,below the blocks F and G, through which the post passes, the blocks Fand G crossing each other, as represented in Fig. 4:, so as to brace theposts after the blocks have been buried in the ground H. Anotherblockpiece, I, may also be used, the post passing through the block,with its shoulders d, one on each edge, resting upon the top of theblock. It may be a good plan to arrange a metal washer upon the postbetween the shoulders d and block L. If preferred, the block G mayextend up to and support the block I, or even made so as to receive theshoulders 01, in which case the block I could be omitted, although itwould be well to employ the metal washer between the shoulders at andthe block G.

If preferred, a stone anchor, J, may be used, a hole being drilledtherein, and the lower end of the post fastened therein by means ofkeys'or sulphur run in to lock and seal the post in place.

In whichever form or manner the post is anchored the anchors are to beburied in the ground, to give stiffness and rigidity to the fence, and,when desired for greater strength, the posts may be braced above ground.

In practice, we recommend that the posts be made from bar-iron twoinches wide and one fourth inch thick, and in forming the lower curvedend, that operation may be performed very expeditiously and accuratelyby means of male and female dies of the desired shape, the lower end ofthe post being first brought to a suitable heat, when it is placed uponthe male die, after which the female die is brought down upon the heatedend of the bar by means of the drop process or otherwise, therebyforging or swaging the lower end of the post into the desired form,which may be of regular form or tapering toward its lower end J.

After theposts have been properly anchored in the ground, the barbedfencing G is secured at one end to a stretching-post, after which it isunreeled, and strung along upon the slot ted sides of the intermediateposts A and B, and secured at its other end to another stretching-post,and this operation may be repeated until all the separate strands offencing have been strung from stretching-post to stretching-post, afterwhich the operator commences and stretches one strand after anothersufficiently taut, and then secures the fencing to the stretching-post,after which he proceeds to place the diflerent strands into theirrespective slots a in the posts A or B, as the case may be, where theyare secured by means of metal wedges or nails f.

Our improved fence-posts are a greatconvenience in putting upbarbed-wire fencing, since the farmer is enabled to stretch the barbedfencing outside of the posts, and then swing or place the fencing intothe slots a of the posts, where it is afterward keyed in posit-ion, asabove explained, and should the fencing ever become slack the farmer hasonly to remove the keys f, when the strands can be stretched taut again.

Those accustomed to keep fences in repair in localities where suchfences are exposed to frequent fires will readily appreciate the greatpractical advantage of our present invention, since it enables thefarmer to build a fence which is practically fire-proof.

Having described our improvements in barbed-wire-fence posts, what weclaim therein as new and of our invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-- A metallic fence-post, A, provided with a series ofslots, a, upon one edge, and a notch, D, at its upper end, and withacurved anchorpoint, J, at its lower end, substantially as shown anddescribed.

CHAS. H. MORGAN. JOHN F. LANDERS.

Witnesses THOS. H. DODGE, E. E. MOORE.

